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Traveling with Baby: Volume One

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We all know how much is involved when packing for a day out. It's absurd! It takes forever and the amount of stuff you have to take is just ridiculous! If we have to leave early the next morning we must pack the bag the night before. Yes, washing all the bottles before bed is so much fun! We recently went on our first overnight trip. Just one night. I stuffed tons of bibs, formula, diapers, burp rags and outfits in our luggage. For just one night... because you never know how much they will need and you DO NOT wanna run out.  When Brad is working nights & asks what I'm doing... I usually say "Poppin' bottles!" I mentally went through the list over and over on the way to our destination 2 hours away (6 hours in baby time). Amazingly the only thing we forgot was the bottle brush and soap. I was proud. Brad just had to run to the gas station to get dish soap... and I'm glad he did! He came back with Palmolive. We had only used Dawn up until this point....

The Baby Ate My Brain Cells: Example One

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Pregnancy brain. It's a real thing & lasts WAY past pregnancy. Here is an example from yesterday. I was letting my husband sleep as long as possible before waking him up to get ready for church. He was only off 2 days, so, I wanted to make the most of it plus let him sleep in some to catch up on rest.  When I tried to wake him,  he said that he felt bad. His throat hurt & he had chills during the night. I checked his temperature & it was 100.1. I gave him a dose of DayQuil & let him rest.  I'm sympathetic but this is also accurate! LOL! I had a little "good angel, bad angel" going on. Good angel saying... He's the provider, he needs the rest... Let him sleep. Bad angel saying... If it was you with a cold then you wouldn't have the option to lay in the bed ALL day & ALL night.  Well, it's true for most.  At 5pm I decided to wake him up because he needed a shower & something to eat. He needed his strength...

Sleep: The Great White Buffalo

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Would I ever see it again? A couple weeks ago, I didn't think I would. I missed it like a long lost love. I thought about it all the time. My 3 month old didn't seem to need it... So, why did I? It toyed with my delirious mind. When my baby would finally go down for a few hours I would get in bed so tired but I couldn't find my way to Neverland. Why, oh why? As soon as I would finally drift off, the baby would wake. I would daydream at night about the few 7 hour nights she had slept. I didn't know why she had sleep regression. I searched the Internet high and low about what to do. Reading about the "4 month leap" and how they can go through that early. Must've been it!  Trying the crib out. Watching her like a hawk! Something has happened the past week though. Prayers have been answered. She has slept 6-7 hours every night! Last night she slept 9. NINE!!! A big leap from 2-4 hours at a time! It seems we finally have a routine established. M...

5 Gross Habits of a Stay at Home Mom

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#1. You smell bad & you don't care. Sometimes maybe you wipe your arm pits with a wipe while changing the baby. You'll get around to showering or you have already & you've broken quite a sweat taking care of the baby! Work hard, smell bad. Isn't that how the saying goes?  #2. You're gonna floss next time you brush your teeth... every time.   At times you secretly wonder if your baby was fussy because she had to smell your bad breath in the middle of the night ... Or day.  #3. If you do get to shower you don't hardly wash your hair or shave.  Only if you're getting out of the house does your hair & face get attention. Your children need to know what natural beauty is anyway, right? Husband too... just trying this European thing honey! #4. You're no longer afraid of substances the come out of your child's orifices.   That major booger/snot phobia of your younger days is no longer. Maybe you've even ...

The loaded question: How's it feel to be a stay at home mom?

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I am asked this on a regular basis. I always answer, "I love it, but ______." Depending on how it's been going lately determines what fills the blank space. Today it would be, "I'm sleep deprived and borderline insane."  In the last 24 hours I've had about 5 hours of sleep... and that wasn't all together. My baby has yet to turn into a good sleeper. We've had several 7/8 hour nights of sleep without interruption, they were glorious!!! I didn't realize how little sleep I could "function" on. I had a breakdown last night  at 2am  when Emry woke up for the 3rd time since I first put her down  at 11:45 . Bless her heart and bless mine. I know the long sleeping nights are coming but it's hard to see the pot of gold at the end of the sleepless rainbow when it's  2am  the next night and still no sleep for me. She just slept for 2 hours and I slept none. I'm so tired that my mind won't turn off. Exhaustion at its finest!...

DIY: Home Made Laundry Soap

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I have researched a million of these homemade laundry powder recipes! I came up with my own and I am loving the results. I paid under $20 for all the ingredients! It took roughly an hour to make and it will last approximately 8 months if we wash 5 loads a week (using 2 tablespoons a load). I will use 1 tablespoon for smaller loads and some weeks we don't have as many loads to wash. Exciting if you're  looking for ways to save money! Hoping this lasts a year... I will have to wait and see.  I have used All Free & Clear Pods in our household for awhile now because I have sensitive skin and we have a new baby with new baby skin!  I like this homemade recipe much more! Our clothes feel cleaner and smell better. A light and fresh scent. It's wonderful! You can add Downy Crystals or any other scent booster to this if you want a stronger smell. We use them but not on the baby's clothes so I decided to leave it on the side.  This recipe doesn't call for ...

Yummy & Easy Recipe: Chicken Ranch Tacos

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What you'll need: 2-3 chicken breasts  2 cups water  1 pack of taco seasoning  1 pack ranch  I throw this all in the crock pot (chicken still frozen) & a few hours later the chicken falls apart!  If you need to cook it while you're at work or gone all day then just add extra water & keep the crock pot setting on low.  This makes enough for my husband & I, plus his lunch for the next day. Just add more chicken to increase the serving size. You can serve it over rice or in tacos. I have even used juice from the crock pot to cook the rice in. It was so good!  This is very inexpensive & one of my husband's favorite meals! I'm not big on cooking but we get tired of eating out & we have to save money even more since I started staying home with the baby. I will be sharing more of my yummy & easy recipes in the future!